About 70% of the cargo that is imported or exported around the world is transported through the ocean. Ships are a means of transportation, which can carry the most amount of loads at once. There are ships of all different sizes from small ships that can be loaded with hundreds of containers all the way to mega-sized ships that can be loaded with 24,000 containers.
However, no ship, whether small or big, returns empty after unloading all the cargo at its destination. When a ship is light and its lower part does not sink properly, the center of gravity rises, making the ship more likely to tip over, and the propeller can be exposed above the surface, spinning with no traction. To prevent this potential danger, they fill the water tank installed inside the ship with the sea water before departing. This water is called “ballast water.” You may think that it will be better for the ship when the heavy loads are unloaded, but in fact, a load is needed to lower the center of gravity of the ship for safe sailing without losing balance.
We are all taking courses in our lives like an open sea. Sometimes, we have things that feel like loads. However, those things can be the ballast water that holds us from shaking or falling in the wild wind and waves of the world.